Month: July 2018

Plastic surgery should never be considered a replacement for a healthy lifestyle. This is why Dr. Florence Mussat offers medical weight loss programs to help her patients slim down in a safe, manageable way. But, what if you’ve already done the hard work of losing weight? Can plastic surgery help you contour problem areas and improve your weight loss outcomes? Yes, it can—and here’s how:

Liposuction: The Best Solution for Localized Fat Deposits

For many people, getting close to a healthy weight isn’t the hardest part of weight loss. Instead, it’s those last ten or twenty pounds that can seem all but impossible to shift. Factors beyond our control—like genetics, hormones, and natural aging—can create pockets of diet-resistant fat. Women who have had children, for example, often have stores of stubborn fat on their hips, flanks, and thighs. Likewise, most people over 40 have some degree of fat centralization. As we get older, fat leaves our extremities, settling around the midriff instead. Consequently, a person can stay the same weight for decades, but still develop diet-resistant belly fat.

Liposuction is the best way to remove stubborn, localized fat deposits, because it’s both safe and effective. Unlike extreme dieting, it won’t put patients at risk of nutritional deficiencies or energy deficits. Fat is liquefied with a special solution, then extracted through a thin tube (called a cannula). The whole procedure can be performed using just local anesthetic, and the patient usually feels better within five to seven days.

Gynecomastia Surgery: Better Body Confidence for Men

Male breast enlargement—also called gynecomastia—makes it extremely difficult for affected men to adhere to a fitness routine. Men with gynecomastia typically avoid any activity that will draw attention to the chest. Furthermore, research has shown that some men with this condition actually gain weight on purpose, thinking that a large belly will take attention away from their chest area. Fortunately, there’s a much healthier solution: Gynecomastia surgery. This procedure permanently reduces the size of enlarged breasts, giving men the freedom to exercise without embarrassment.

Body Contouring: Key to Long-Term Weight Maintenance

Formerly obese individuals who have lost a large amount of weight (either through diet and exercise or bariatric surgery) are strongly advised to consider plastic surgery. According to a study published in the October 2013 edition of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, formerly obese patients who don’t undergo body contouring regain at least 11% of the weight they lost. Patients who do undergo body contouring, on the other hand, regain just 4% of the weight they lost.

Body contouring can take the form of a full body lift (usually recommended for patients who have lost 100 or more pounds) or a tummy tuck.

The Mommy Makeover: Healing After Pregnancy

For new moms, the biggest barrier to exercise is usually damaged abdominal muscles. During pregnancy, the tissue that joins the lateral halves of the abdominal muscles often tears. Once this happens, the muscles no longer work together properly. As a result, they weaken, and the stomach protrudes outward—even after all of the “baby weight” is gone. During a mommy makeover, sutures are placed in the patient’s damaged abdominal tissue, allowing it to heal properly.

Plastic surgery isn’t a substitute for diet and exercise, but it can be a powerful weapon in your fight against weight gain. To learn more about these procedures, contact Dr. Mussat to schedule a personal consultation.

“Body contouring” refers to any procedure that changes the shape of the body. Surgical body contouring can be used to add volume to specific areas, remove unwanted fat, or get rid of loose skin. Adults of all ages can benefit from body contouring, and these procedures are suitable for a variety of different body types. If you’re in good health and close to your ideal weight, you’re probably a good candidate for body contouring.

Volume-Enhancing Procedures

Volume-enhancing procedures consistently rank among America’s most popular plastic surgeries. Their ability to create the perfect hourglass figure has made them a Hollywood staple. Many famous physiques have received some help from breast augmentation surgery and, more recently, the Brazilian Butt Lift. Unlike breast augmentation, the BBL doesn’t utilize silicone implants. Instead, the patient’s own fat is removed (via liposuction), processed in a centrifuge, and injected into the buttocks. This creates a permanent increase in volume that both looks and feels completely natural.

Fat Reduction Procedures

Though it’s not possible to use cosmetic surgery for significant overall weight loss, procedures like liposuction are excellent for “spot reducing” fat. Sometimes, fatty deposits in certain areas don’t respond to diet and exercise, remaining in place even when further weight loss would be unhealthy. People over 40, for example, often retain a little bit of belly fat, no matter how much they work out. This happens because fat stores more centralized around the abdomen as we get older. Liposuction can remove about five to eight pounds of this stubborn fat in one quick, easy procedure. Modern liposuction is only minimally invasive and can usually be performed with the use of just local anesthesia.

Skin Tightening Procedures

Loose skin is a common side effect of natural aging, pregnancy, and significant weight loss. Not only is excess skin unsightly and embarrassing, it can negatively impact a person’s quality of life. Loose skin is prone to chafing, and it can become chronically irritated or infected. Patients with more than an inch or two of loose skin in any area should therefore consider surgical skin tightening.

Dr. Florence Mussat offers a number of targeted skin resection procedures, such as the arm lift, thigh lift, and tummy tuck surgery. She’s also one of a small number of plastic surgeons who have the expertise required to perform body lift surgery. This highly specialized procedure, which is usually recommended for bariatric weight loss patients, removes folds of loose skin from the whole circumference of the body. This procedure gives people who have successfully overcome obesity the freedom to exercise and wear any clothing style of their choice. Post-bariatric surgery is associated with vastly improved weight maintenance outcomes; when patients are happy with their shape, they’re much less likely to regain the weight they have lost.

Getting Started on Your Body Contouring Journey

Before you have any body contouring procedure, you’ll need to be within a healthy weight range. If you’re struggling to achieve this goal, we can help. Dr. Mussat also provides guided medical weight loss programs for her patients. These programs are designed by physicians to help patients lose weight safely—and keep it off. To learn more about medical weight loss or body contouring, contact us to schedule a consultation. We look forward to sharing our knowledge with you.

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Florence Mussat, M.D., s.c.

680 N Lake Shore Dr #1030 Chicago, IL 60611

Information provided on this site is not a substitute for a personal consultation and should not be taken as direct medical advice. Patients should note that their results will vary, and all content provided here or in email is intended for educational purposes only. Information posted on our site is created and maintained by a third-party private organization and does not replace the information and individual treatment recommendations that can be provided by a physician. Patients are highly encouraged to schedule a consultation or reach out via email for additional information and to arrange an in-person visit.